I just awoke, so I’ll write down what I’m thinking…

Imagine trying to persuade someone of the truth of your religion, and then, when they raise an objection that trumps what you said, you simply change the goal posts. (Does this tactic ever work? I wish I had the discipline to follow thru on such a thought experiment.)

Imagine being a pacifist living in a war-based economy. Now think what it’s like to be someone who really loves war.

Imagine taking a canal barge to Paris, and then buying new clothing for yourself when you arrive. What would you wear? I myself would want to look presentable; but I wouldn’t follow the fashion advice that is broadcast over the radio, because I don’t want to wear a white beret with a white suit or a pleated skirt.

To reduce everything to a mercantile transaction – does this make you more or less happy? Personally, I don’t like it; but I also don’t want to waste time criticizing. So I’ll just step back and wait to see what develops next, though I fear that things will never change. (What if the best way to spend your life is to refrain from action?)

Text etched in stone can survive the death of its author. But what about text that is saved on electronic devices? (“Saved” – in this context, what does it mean?) I’m attracted to the longevity of text, because, having never found a contemporary readership, I hope to earn one in futurity. Yet, for a message to span the ages, there must eventually be born an individual who is willing to read dead authors – I wonder what type of mind this fact limits us to.

Think of a woman who is generally considered attractive. Everywhere she goes, people show her favor on account of her beauty. But she didn’t have a hand in crafting her features; she simply inherited them. Meanwhile, a homely woman is given less positive societal attention, through no fault of her own. – Or are we somehow responsible for the way that we look? Is being born pretty or ugly a type of judgment from God? Might comeliness be insinuating something beyond itself?

I say that beauty is a dead end, although I love it and desire it to flourish.

Also, I say: Memory is identity. So, since the recipient of reward or punishment is never the culprit, then whoever invented the karma system is evil.